Current trends in the design of machinery and equipment are directed toward a provision of smaller, lighter and less costly configurations. Unfortunately these trends also result in a reduction of the space available for tool access. Conventional socket tools which comprise a set of various sizes of sockets and a ratchet drive tool often cannot be used on such equipment because of limited space. This problem coupled with the ever increasing cost of labor contributes to a long felt need for a practical and efficient open end ratchet wrench tool.
The prior art includes numerous attempts to provide a practical open end ratchet wrench. The prior art devices are all characterized by a reliance on pawls, cams, spring loaded members and similar individual mechanical elements to provide a mechanism capable of a ratcheting or overriding motion. This results in a requirement for a relatively large number of individual component parts in any single ratchet tool and consequently, a high manufacturing cost. In addition, the relatively close tolerances which these component parts require for operation results in a relatively high rate of malfunction due to damage caused by dropping and other types of mishandling often encountered during normal tool use.